Nets are a common piece of sporting equipment that can be used for various sports including volleyball, a wallyball, a badminton, a tennis, and other sports. Sporting nets can sometimes include antennas or extension rods that are used to mark or designate boundaries of the game.
Volleyball is an example of a net sport using an antenna. A volleyball net is approximately 3 feet wide and 32 feet in length when stretched across the volleyball court. Volleyball nets normally are made of 4-inch square mesh of linen twine and re rigged at the top and bottom edges to a rope or cable in conventional manner. Volleyball rules require that a long vertically disposed antenna be suspended by the net at each sideline of the volleyball court so the antennas extend to a height of approximately 76 to 107 cm (or 2.5 to 3.5 feet) above the net. The antennas are secured to the net at approximately 8½ inches from the ends thereof and are normally in the order of ⅝ths of an inch in diameter. The antennas are typically made of fiberglass or the like.
The antennas can be secured at the top and bottom of the net, including upper and lower edges of the net, and define the lateral width of play of the volleyball court. If the ball touches one of the antennas, it is considered to be out of bounds.